D
Deadflesh
Guest
http://truthinscripture.com/2011/10/09/reaction-to-hearing-the-gospel/
Reaction to Hearing the Gospel
Isaiah 55:11 So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.
When we hear the WORD of God spoken into our hearts we have two primary responses. One is that our hearts will condemn us for the sin that resides inside of it. The law of God still stands and brings judgment for sin. The other response is we can get angry at the message and the messenger or just change the channel. Sin is utterly deceitful (Heb 3:13) and our wicked unrepentant hearts will look for any defense it can to stay alive in sin. We will rationalize it, analyze and speculate on the Scriptures to define a grey area, or pervert grace and call obedience to the will of God Works. Remember it is not the hearers of God’s word that will be justified before Him, but the doers (Rom 2:12-13).
We are called to examine ourselves. Know that the WORD will not return to Jesus void, it will bring repentance to those that hear or it will bring judgment.
Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart
Far too often we put so much emphasis on the external forms of godliness and what we eat and drink as a measure of holiness. Yet Paul said walk by the Spirit and you WILL NOT fulfill the lusts of the flesh and goes on to list them in Galatians 5:19-20 (shown below). Many that claim holiness have defiled hearts that are not fully surrendered (repentant) to the Lord. They say peace but there is no peace. But make no mistake, the wrath of God rightly abides upon the sons of disobedience. We either walk in love or we will hear from the Lord. This is what a loving God does to turn the hearts of His people back to Him 100%.
Romans 8:6-8 for to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. 8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
When you hear holiness being preached, what is your reaction? Does it bring humility to your mind and repentant thoughts or do you think evil of the message and the messenger? Most Christians get upset when they hear the truth as their flesh is hostile to the true WORD. If this is happening it should be warning signal that something is amiss. Self must die at the cross. Unless we are baptized into the death of Jesus we cannot be raised anew in power of the Spirit. We need to repent. Getting mad and perverting grace into a false security is not salvation, it is deception.
2 Thess 2:11-12 And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, 12 that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
The Simplicity of the Gospel: WALK IN LOVE
2 Cor 11:3 But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ
Paul feared for many of the early “believers” that had strayed from the truth and would be deceived into a false security with the wrong gospel and follow another jesus. I share that fear yet praise God for His mercy and grace that woke me and many others up to our deception and the great falling away that has taken place. Nobody boasts in this as the ears to hear and eyes to see are all given to us by God who is the source of all revelation. None of us found Him or the truth on our own initiative and intelligence.
I have come to see two major sides of the false gospels. One perverts grace into a license to sin. The other establishes a way of self-righteousness as the way to salvation. Both camps are in danger of hell fire as they miss the gospel. I came out of the perverted grace camp and was slowly sucked into the self-righteousness camp after I truly came to a saving faith. When in the perverted grace camp, I did not even know the Lord despite being highly esteemed by men for my good works and tithes. This is the war that all Christians are in whether they know it or not. We are in a war of words to the very end and need to discern which river is the origin of the words. God has a river of words as does Satan.
Revelation 12:15 So the serpent spewed water out of his mouth like a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away by the flood
These are some immutable truths that distill the gospel into ready made litmus tests that we can use to examine ourselves to see if we are really in the faith.
Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me
2. Any SELFishness in our hearts will hinder true love. If self is alive, even 10% it remains an idol competing with Jesus. SELF must be put to death before new life can sprout and a jealous God demands ALL of our hearts.
John 12:24 Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit
Romans 6:5-6 For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, 6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin
Our flesh is in agreement with the Powers of Darkness and the sinful nature that breaks God’s law as soon as it wakes up in the morning. This is what must be put to death daily. This is our cross to carry but it does get easier as I can testify but it will cost us things the way the world defines it. It will cost us our ego, our pride, our reputation, our strength, cockiness, competitiveness, our money and many other things that are highly esteemed by the world. When we focus on “Me, Myself and I” we are living carnally and have not put on the divine nature and put off the flesh. Christians can never please Him unless this nature of Satan is put to death in our mortal bodies and we put on the mind of Christ.
The good news is this gospel of love. We walk in love and we are in God’s protection holding to a perfect peace. When we don’t love others and continue to live for ourselves instead, it is impossible to fulfill the foremost commandment and what is called the Royal Law of loving your neighbor as yourself. Fleshly compassion is frequently confused with a God kind of love. Love does no harm to a neighbor and never seeks its own. Many speak love but inwardly are trying to gain an advantage, speaking both blessings and curses from the same mouth. God is not fooled by any of this.
Jeremiah 9:8-9 Their tongue is an arrow shot out; It speaks deceit; One speaks peaceably to his neighbor with his mouth, But in his heart he lies in wait. 9 Shall I not punish them for these things?” says the LORD.
We see pride show up all the time in boastful and arrogant ways; often in the name of the Lord. This is the error of a Pharisee that throws out accusations, condemnation and the like using Scripture not being aware they themselves have been led astray by the deceitfulness of sin (pride) in their heart.
Galatians 6:1 Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted
We can be sure that we are not in the will of God if gentleness is not coming out of our mouths.
If we are truly following Jesus, we will enter into and possess the land (Hebrews 3 and 4). This means we will have purified our heart and cleansed the land of all idols and defilements. If our hope is in Jesus and not our intellect or the strength of our flesh, this is what we will do — IT IS NOT AN OPTION. The Lord has made it abundantly clear that unless and until we turn our hearts towards Him in repentance we will be without understanding. The gospel and the way of salvation is veiled to all who walk in the stubbornness of their pride according to the prince of the power of the air. Until we truly turn (i.e. repent); the true gospel will make no sense and will go in one ear and out the other. This is why when you witness to people some just don’t seem to get it. They can’t get it unless the Lord grants them repentance and the resulting ears to hear.
Matthew 13:14-15 And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says:
Hearing you will hear and shall not understand,
And seeing you will see and not perceive;
For the hearts of this people have grown dull.
Their ears are hard of hearing,
And their eyes they have closed,
Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears,
Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn,
So that I should heal them.
If we refuse to lay down the deeds of the flesh in full surrender, we are telling Jesus we love our sin more than we love Him. This is idolatry which is rebellion. Jesus said if we love Him we will obey Him. Refusing to repent of sin shows God who really is Lord and who we really love.
Luke 6:46 But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say?
We are living in the last days. The great falling away has already come. All have been sleeping and if you are awake it is only by the grace of our God. It is shocking to see both the ear tickling that goes on in the vast majority of Christian platforms– be it on TV, church pulpits, books, YouTube and the blogosphere. What is more telling to me than this perversion of grace gospel is the vitriol and hate thrown back at those telling the hard truth. Praise God for the few preachers that teach the whole council of God, both the blessing and the curses. We must learn the fear of God and in particular I applaud those taking their message to the streets. There is no earthly glory in preaching the truth and making a stand for Christ. Our reward will be in heaven not here from the approval of men.
The deeds of the flesh break the God’s law and bring wrath. These deeds cannot peacefully coexist with anyone claiming to walk in the gospel which says to love God and love your neighbor.
Galatians 5:19-21Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, 21 envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
When we get another root in our heart, it does not produce the fruit of righteousness. So many Christians today have put on forms of godliness yet hold these deeds of the flesh in secret as the true lord of their lives.
Romans 8:12-15 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God
Where is your heart my friends? Is it totally sold out to Jesus? Is the WORD properly divided bringing conviction to your heart? I pray you are not one that is getting angry and hostile in response to the true gospel. A lot of us have work to do but we are striving. The greater concern is those that reject Christ and His grace and the call to holiness and purity. Choose eternal life today and every day.
Joel 3:14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision
God has brought me a long way thru a number of trials and tribulations these past several months. He has disciplined me as a Father will and I praise His Holy name for the mercy and patience He has shown me and will show to all. I want to thank the brothers and sisters that have encouraged me over the past several months, who speak the WORD OF GOD unashamedly and are fulfilling the Royal Law of Love. Thank you.
Philippians 1:6 HE who has begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ
May God Bless You Richly!
Reaction to Hearing the Gospel
Isaiah 55:11 So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.
When we hear the WORD of God spoken into our hearts we have two primary responses. One is that our hearts will condemn us for the sin that resides inside of it. The law of God still stands and brings judgment for sin. The other response is we can get angry at the message and the messenger or just change the channel. Sin is utterly deceitful (Heb 3:13) and our wicked unrepentant hearts will look for any defense it can to stay alive in sin. We will rationalize it, analyze and speculate on the Scriptures to define a grey area, or pervert grace and call obedience to the will of God Works. Remember it is not the hearers of God’s word that will be justified before Him, but the doers (Rom 2:12-13).
We are called to examine ourselves. Know that the WORD will not return to Jesus void, it will bring repentance to those that hear or it will bring judgment.
Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart
Far too often we put so much emphasis on the external forms of godliness and what we eat and drink as a measure of holiness. Yet Paul said walk by the Spirit and you WILL NOT fulfill the lusts of the flesh and goes on to list them in Galatians 5:19-20 (shown below). Many that claim holiness have defiled hearts that are not fully surrendered (repentant) to the Lord. They say peace but there is no peace. But make no mistake, the wrath of God rightly abides upon the sons of disobedience. We either walk in love or we will hear from the Lord. This is what a loving God does to turn the hearts of His people back to Him 100%.
Romans 8:6-8 for to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. 8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
When you hear holiness being preached, what is your reaction? Does it bring humility to your mind and repentant thoughts or do you think evil of the message and the messenger? Most Christians get upset when they hear the truth as their flesh is hostile to the true WORD. If this is happening it should be warning signal that something is amiss. Self must die at the cross. Unless we are baptized into the death of Jesus we cannot be raised anew in power of the Spirit. We need to repent. Getting mad and perverting grace into a false security is not salvation, it is deception.
2 Thess 2:11-12 And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, 12 that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
The Simplicity of the Gospel: WALK IN LOVE
2 Cor 11:3 But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ
Paul feared for many of the early “believers” that had strayed from the truth and would be deceived into a false security with the wrong gospel and follow another jesus. I share that fear yet praise God for His mercy and grace that woke me and many others up to our deception and the great falling away that has taken place. Nobody boasts in this as the ears to hear and eyes to see are all given to us by God who is the source of all revelation. None of us found Him or the truth on our own initiative and intelligence.
I have come to see two major sides of the false gospels. One perverts grace into a license to sin. The other establishes a way of self-righteousness as the way to salvation. Both camps are in danger of hell fire as they miss the gospel. I came out of the perverted grace camp and was slowly sucked into the self-righteousness camp after I truly came to a saving faith. When in the perverted grace camp, I did not even know the Lord despite being highly esteemed by men for my good works and tithes. This is the war that all Christians are in whether they know it or not. We are in a war of words to the very end and need to discern which river is the origin of the words. God has a river of words as does Satan.
Revelation 12:15 So the serpent spewed water out of his mouth like a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away by the flood
These are some immutable truths that distill the gospel into ready made litmus tests that we can use to examine ourselves to see if we are really in the faith.
- Self Must Die - There is NO other way. Adding Jesus to a live driven by self love, self worship and self-aggrandizement may be a religious life, but it is a life separated from the living God. God does not cooperate very much with flesh and as we saw above, we become an enemy of God when we are not willing to surrender it all to Him.
Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me
2. Any SELFishness in our hearts will hinder true love. If self is alive, even 10% it remains an idol competing with Jesus. SELF must be put to death before new life can sprout and a jealous God demands ALL of our hearts.
John 12:24 Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit
Romans 6:5-6 For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, 6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin
Our flesh is in agreement with the Powers of Darkness and the sinful nature that breaks God’s law as soon as it wakes up in the morning. This is what must be put to death daily. This is our cross to carry but it does get easier as I can testify but it will cost us things the way the world defines it. It will cost us our ego, our pride, our reputation, our strength, cockiness, competitiveness, our money and many other things that are highly esteemed by the world. When we focus on “Me, Myself and I” we are living carnally and have not put on the divine nature and put off the flesh. Christians can never please Him unless this nature of Satan is put to death in our mortal bodies and we put on the mind of Christ.
The good news is this gospel of love. We walk in love and we are in God’s protection holding to a perfect peace. When we don’t love others and continue to live for ourselves instead, it is impossible to fulfill the foremost commandment and what is called the Royal Law of loving your neighbor as yourself. Fleshly compassion is frequently confused with a God kind of love. Love does no harm to a neighbor and never seeks its own. Many speak love but inwardly are trying to gain an advantage, speaking both blessings and curses from the same mouth. God is not fooled by any of this.
Jeremiah 9:8-9 Their tongue is an arrow shot out; It speaks deceit; One speaks peaceably to his neighbor with his mouth, But in his heart he lies in wait. 9 Shall I not punish them for these things?” says the LORD.
We see pride show up all the time in boastful and arrogant ways; often in the name of the Lord. This is the error of a Pharisee that throws out accusations, condemnation and the like using Scripture not being aware they themselves have been led astray by the deceitfulness of sin (pride) in their heart.
Galatians 6:1 Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted
We can be sure that we are not in the will of God if gentleness is not coming out of our mouths.
If we are truly following Jesus, we will enter into and possess the land (Hebrews 3 and 4). This means we will have purified our heart and cleansed the land of all idols and defilements. If our hope is in Jesus and not our intellect or the strength of our flesh, this is what we will do — IT IS NOT AN OPTION. The Lord has made it abundantly clear that unless and until we turn our hearts towards Him in repentance we will be without understanding. The gospel and the way of salvation is veiled to all who walk in the stubbornness of their pride according to the prince of the power of the air. Until we truly turn (i.e. repent); the true gospel will make no sense and will go in one ear and out the other. This is why when you witness to people some just don’t seem to get it. They can’t get it unless the Lord grants them repentance and the resulting ears to hear.
Matthew 13:14-15 And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says:
Hearing you will hear and shall not understand,
And seeing you will see and not perceive;
For the hearts of this people have grown dull.
Their ears are hard of hearing,
And their eyes they have closed,
Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears,
Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn,
So that I should heal them.
If we refuse to lay down the deeds of the flesh in full surrender, we are telling Jesus we love our sin more than we love Him. This is idolatry which is rebellion. Jesus said if we love Him we will obey Him. Refusing to repent of sin shows God who really is Lord and who we really love.
Luke 6:46 But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say?
We are living in the last days. The great falling away has already come. All have been sleeping and if you are awake it is only by the grace of our God. It is shocking to see both the ear tickling that goes on in the vast majority of Christian platforms– be it on TV, church pulpits, books, YouTube and the blogosphere. What is more telling to me than this perversion of grace gospel is the vitriol and hate thrown back at those telling the hard truth. Praise God for the few preachers that teach the whole council of God, both the blessing and the curses. We must learn the fear of God and in particular I applaud those taking their message to the streets. There is no earthly glory in preaching the truth and making a stand for Christ. Our reward will be in heaven not here from the approval of men.
The deeds of the flesh break the God’s law and bring wrath. These deeds cannot peacefully coexist with anyone claiming to walk in the gospel which says to love God and love your neighbor.
Galatians 5:19-21Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, 21 envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
When we get another root in our heart, it does not produce the fruit of righteousness. So many Christians today have put on forms of godliness yet hold these deeds of the flesh in secret as the true lord of their lives.
Romans 8:12-15 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God
Where is your heart my friends? Is it totally sold out to Jesus? Is the WORD properly divided bringing conviction to your heart? I pray you are not one that is getting angry and hostile in response to the true gospel. A lot of us have work to do but we are striving. The greater concern is those that reject Christ and His grace and the call to holiness and purity. Choose eternal life today and every day.
Joel 3:14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision
God has brought me a long way thru a number of trials and tribulations these past several months. He has disciplined me as a Father will and I praise His Holy name for the mercy and patience He has shown me and will show to all. I want to thank the brothers and sisters that have encouraged me over the past several months, who speak the WORD OF GOD unashamedly and are fulfilling the Royal Law of Love. Thank you.
Philippians 1:6 HE who has begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ
May God Bless You Richly!